I was entering my senior year of college, finishing up a B.A. in Biblical & Theological Studies and a minor in New Testament Greek. But I was never going to be a pastor! I had absolutely no desire to lead a church.
I was 21 years old with a deep hunger to study the Scriptures and put my knowledge to good use in some other context. I planned to continue my studies at the graduate level after college and was looking for a part-time job on the side to put my degree to some use.
Do you remember that moment when you realized you were now an adult, and you needed to look for your first “real” job? Do you remember the angst and insecurity you felt while typing up your first resume and filling out that first job application? Do you remember putting yourself out there and wincing as you await your first official rejection?
I remember it all quite well. My challenge was: What kind of jobs exist for a guy with a Bible degree who isn’t interested in working in a church? Not many! But there was one…
The job listing that leapt off the career services webpage was a Bible Counselor for The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA). The job entailed responding to the vast amounts of mail they receive and helping answer questions people had about the Christian faith and biblical teaching.
I remember carefully crafting that cover letter, and shaping that resume to make me sound like the perfect candidate. I sent it off. I waited eagerly to hear back. I prepared to receive either my first rejection or my first successful job offer.
I got neither.
I received a letter (or phone call) thanking me for applying for the job, but informing me that BGEA was in the process of moving their headquarters from Minneapolis to North Carolina. I was not about to move to Charlotte, so that’s as close as I ever got to working for Billy Graham.
As a young man, Billy had no interest in going to see the traveling evangelist Mordecai Ham when he came to town. God had other plans, and Billy went on to be the greatest evangelist of the modern era.
As a young man, I had no interest in being a pastor or serving a church. God had other plans, and I’m writing this to the precious church God has called me to pastor.
Once again the words of Scripture are proven true:
“Many are the plans of man, but its the Lord’s purpose that prevails” (Proverbs 19:21).
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Jeremy L. Berg 